Monday, August 15, 2011

Everyone being in the same place at the same time doesn't happen very often. When it happened this summer, Mom took advantage of the opportunity and had Sabrina take pictures of The Kiddos on The Ranch. Taking pictures with 4 boys under the age of 3 was pretty interesting, but we ended up with some great pictures and that's all that matters!

Friday, July 22, 2011

A year ago Jeff's Grandpa Bob was in a horse accident and paralyzed from the neck down. He now lives in a home in Bend just 2 hours away from us. When Balen was 6 days old we made the trip to Bend to meet his Great Grandpa and Grandma.

Grandma Bill

While we were there we met some of Jeff's family at Olive Garden for lunch.

Jeff came down with a really bad case of the flu and a virus that was very similar to strep throat the day before Balen was born. Perfect Timing! He was a trooper though! The hospital moved a recliner into my hospital room for him to sit in while I was in labor for 18 hours. He was able to come into the operating room and sit right next to me until they got Balen out. The next few days he laid in the hospital bed next to me until he got better. The only time he got up was to eat, change Balen's diaper or hand him to me because I couldn't walk. It will always be a memory!

I don't know what I would have done without My Mom! She never left my side through labor and trying to deliver. When they wheeled me away to the operating room I think I was more worried about leaving my mom then I was about having a c-section...

Luckily her best friend Christy Sanders (middle) was one of my nurses! It made me feel so much better knowing she was in there with me.

Jeff leaving the operating room getting ready to show Balen off to our families.

I was due on June 8th. 8 days later still no baby and I SNAPED! Called my doctor Thursday morning (June 16th) and told him I could not be pregnant any longer!! He had me come in for my last OB appointment and said he would induce me in the morning (Friday, June 17th) After my appointment my doctor sent me over to the hospital for my 3rd stress test of the week. Turns out I was in labor and had no idea! They admitted me around noon on the 16th. Hooked me up to pitosin right away to speed things up and make my contractions stronger because I couldn’t feel a thing.

My labor was a walk in the park! I was never in serious pain, but decided to get an epidural when I was dilated to a 5 because I knew I would want it later. Around 11 o’clock that night I was fully dilated and ready to have our baby! If only it were that easy…

As soon as I started pushing my epidural wore off. I could feel EVERYTHING and it was the most painful experience of my life. I was determined to get our baby out though! I pushed for over 3 hours and his head was almost all the way out. My last 3 contractions instead of coming out he decided to go back up the birth canal and turn. After 18 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing I was rushed in for an emergency c-section.

I don’t remember much of the c-section. I was so exhausted by this point I slept through most of it. I remember them giving me a spinal and feeling so relieved that I could no longer feel anything. I remember them shoving the baby back up the birth canal. I remember his first cry. I remember Jeff showing him to me and telling me he had black hair. And I remember throwing up all over myself. Really Special! An hour and a half later I was out of surgery. They wheeled me to my room where Jeff and our baby boy were waiting for me.

We spent the next 4 days in the hospital. I thought I was going to die the first few days, but things slowly got better. I had to learn how to eat, get out of bed, walk, pee, shower, you name it all over again!

Balen Daniel Cary was born at 4 o’clock in the morning on June 17th. He weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 20 inches long. Balen is named after Jeff’s Dad Daniel that passed away from cancer when Jeff was 8 years old. Balen’s middle name fits him perfectly because he looks just like Jeff’s Dad did when he was a baby.

Even though getting Balen here was a NIGHTMARE we wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world. He is a healthy baby boy and that is all that matters!

Holidays. We spent the Holidays in Burns with My Family. We got to sleep in our own bed and only had to drive 20 miles to be with family. Doesn’t get much better than that! All of my siblings were able to make it home at some point during the week. Jeff went all out and got me a Cannon Rebel Camera. It is so nice and I am still so excited about it. I got him a pair of shoes… lame I know. My Dad took everyone snowmobiling on New Years. We had a bonfire, roasted hot dogs, made s’mores and had hot chocolate.

Birthday. Jeff turned 23 on January 18th!! His Grandma Carol’s Birthday is the 17th so we went to Prineville the weekend before and celebrated with his family. We took his grandma shopping and out to lunch at Red Robin on Saturday. We went to breakfast with his mom and sisters Sunday morning before we headed home. It was a quick trip but good to see everyone!

Basketball. We have watched more basketball games in the last 2 months to last a lifetime! My Sister Sheyanne is a sophomore at Burns High School and played on the JV team this year. We made it to almost all of her home games and even managed to travel to a few. Jeff’s Stepsister Preslie is a freshman at Crook County High School and played on the fresh-soph team. We got to watch her play when we went over to celebrate Jeff’s Birthday. Jeff’s Sister Baylee is a 6th grader and played on a school team and club team in Prineville this year. Jeff’s older sister Jamie was her coach. We got to watch her play in Bend at a tournament a couple weeks ago. My sister Sayge is a 3rd grader and played her first year of park & rec basketball. She was half the size of most the other girls but that didn’t stop her. She had improved a ton by the time the season was over.

FFA. It’s a busy time of year for FFA. I have been busy editing scripts helping state officers prepare for convention. This year convention is in Medford, OR March 18th – 21st. With the baby coming this will probably be my last year working with state officers. I will miss it, but will be able to focus more of my time on the Burns Chapter. My Sister Sheyanne competed in sophomore prepared public speaking a few weeks ago at the district leadership competition. She didn’t do as well as we hoped, but she got some great experience under her belt. We are headed to John Day next week for district officer elections.Corvallis. Our house in Corvallis has been on the market for 14 months. We finally gave up, took it off the market and rented it out a couple weeks ago. We went over to check the house, meet the renters and give them the keys the weekend before Valentine’s Day. In the beginning we were thinking we could do it in one day, but our to-do list kept growing… deliver hay, beauty supply store, Verizon, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Big R, Costco. I guess you could say we need to get out of town more! It ended up being a 3 day trip. We spent way too much money, but got a ton done and even managed to go out to dinner at Olive Garden for Valentine’s Day.

Nursery. is under construction! Last week Jeff ripped out the pink carpet and my best friend Brittnee and her mom Bev painted. We are hoping to get the wood floors laid in the next couple weeks. Jeff can’t wait to put the crib together ;] The changing table and dresser are ordered. It’s all a little overwhelming, but we’ll get there eventually. We’ll be sure to post pictures when it’s all put together.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

We celebrated our 1 Year Anniversary December 12th. Hard to believe it’s been a year! Jeff decided that the PERFECT anniversary gift to each other would be a dog. I was VERY hesitant… but it has actually turned out to be a great thing. A month has gone by and nothing has been chewed or broken. The garage is still standing!

Our Story

Agriculture, BALEN & BOSTYN, church callings, COWS, Equipment, FAMILY, ffa, HAIR, Hay, lots and lots of hay. Mickey & Minnie, ROXY THE DOG, spreading fertilizer, and TRACTORS are just a few of our favorite things that keep us busy. We are a healthy happy family of 4, and feel SO BLESSED!!